<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>I Keep A Close Watch On This Heart Of Mine by cazswrites</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25079509">I Keep A Close Watch On This Heart Of Mine</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/cazswrites/pseuds/cazswrites'>cazswrites</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The West Wing</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Fluff</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 03:41:22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,595</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25079509</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/cazswrites/pseuds/cazswrites</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>*Title taken from Walk The Line by Johnny Cash*<br/>*Disclaimer: Obviously do not own the show, characters etc*</p><p>This is just a little collection of one-shots I've written about Josh and Donna, they span a wide time-frame and may not necessarily be in chronological order. They're just things that I would love to have happened.</p><p>Also, this is the first time I've ever posted my writing, so please be kind!</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Josh Lyman/Donna Moss</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>68</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Movie Night</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Two weeks after Josh gets out of the hospital, and he’s getting better every day. No more nurses, no more physical therapy, no more hospital beds. He’s getting more boisterous, loud and back to himself as each day goes on.</p><p>Donna was still staying there pretty much six nights out of seven, as it was more convenient for the both of them; it was easier for Josh because Donna wasn’t far away if he was in pain or need something, and it was easier for Donna because she wasn’t constantly worrying about him.</p><p>Most days, she went to work, called him a few times throughout the day, and then came home with dinner and whatever Josh may need from the office. Once she got home, they put on a movie or carried on with one of their TV shows, talked about both of their days, and then Donna goes to sleep either on the sofa or in the guest room.</p><p>Tonight was a Saturday night, and with no need to go into the office tomorrow, Donna was sprawled out on Josh’s sofa, wearing her favourite fluffy socks, plaid pyjama pants, and Josh’s Yale sweatshirt.</p><p>She’d sent Josh to bed about an hour earlier, and was looking forward to an evening on the couch in front of Josh’s huge TV, watching her favourite movie, Three Men and A Little Lady.</p><p>Swigging from her beer and grabbing a mouthful of popcorn, Donna snuggles under the blanket CJ bought for Josh a few Christmases’ ago. Just as the film is reaching her favourite part, she is interrupted.</p><p>“Donna”, comes a sad little voice from the doorway of Josh’s bedroom, “I can’t sleep”. This has been happening on and off since he left the hospital, so Donna knows the drill.</p><p>He shuffles into the room, and Donna, still lied out on the sofa, wordlessly opens her arms and beckons for Josh to come lie with her.</p><p>Josh sprawls out on top of her, making himself comfortable, and goes to open his mouth to say his thanks. Before he can get a word out, Donna stops him in his tracks.</p><p>“Joshua, I swear to God, if you open your mouth once during the rest of this movie, there will be trouble”, she whispers sternly.</p><p>However, the sternness of her tone is outweighed by the fact she slides one hand into his hair, slowly scratching his scalp, and uses the other hand to rub up and down his back, trying to get him to relax.<br/>Josh does as he is told, pressing a gentle kiss to her jaw instead, slides his arms underneath her back, and settles down to watch.</p><p>As the scene plays where Tom Selleck’s character has to say his goodbyes to the young girl and her mother, he hears Donna’s gentle sniffing from above where his head rests on her chest.</p><p>She always cries at this part, something Josh knows very well as this happens to be approximately the sixth time they’ve watched this film together.</p><p>He slightly tightens his arms around her, whispering “It’s alright Donna, we know how it works out”. He knows his words will do little to help, they never do when she’s like this, but he tries all the same and knows Donna appreciates him for that.</p><p>“I know, I know, it just always gets to me”, Donna replies, dropping her head down a little to bury her head in his hair, breathing him in.</p><p>Her hand dips under his t-shirt, and begins to rub his bare back in slow circles. If this was anyone else, such a gesture would definitely be interpreted to be sexual, but in this instance, it was just something they did. It tends to instantly calm Josh, and more often than not, causes him to drift off to sleep, and seemed to be working now.</p><p>Ten minutes later, and Donna had calmed herself down, and it seemed so had Josh, so she brought her head back slightly to try and sneak a look at Josh’s sleeping face, his breathing had slowed and his eyes were drooping shut. Just as she thought he had drifted off, she heard,</p><p>“Hey, Donna?”</p><p>“Yes, Josh?” she replies, lowering her voice to a whisper, maintaining the circles she was making on his back.</p><p>“Thanks for everything, I mean it”, he mutters, pressing a kiss to her cheek, “and I’m really glad they go to England and get her in the end”. He settles back down, giving her one last little squeeze and closing his eyes.</p><p>Despite the fact that her boss had now turned into a dead weight on top of her, Donna chuckled, pressed one, two, three little kisses to his forehead, and says “Me too, Josh, me too”.</p><p>This had become an all-too-familiar routine of theirs since the shooting, all hands and hugs, and thoughts of ‘maybe we shouldn’t be doing this’.</p><p>At the end of the day, Donna would would look after Josh every second of every day forever if it meant they never had to go through the pain of what happened again, and she knows for certain that Josh would do the same for her. Every single time.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. We're Pulling Out Of Here To Win</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>*Chapter title taken from Thunder Road by Bruce Springsteen*<br/>Also, mentions minor OC death in this one</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The bus rattled down the highway, shuttling the Bartlet for America staff from place to place, small towns to big cities, from New Hampshire to Illinois, Iowa to Nebraska, and everywhere in between. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1"> The bus tended to be the place where the staff could do any last minute work that needs to be done, and often where they could catch a little bit of sleep, especially during the night. The campaign was long and difficult, between the long bus rides and the even longer work days, so the staff had to grab any bit of sleep they could.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1"> Josh Lyman had been doing just that. Tie off, mouth open, head bobbing against the window with the movements of the bus. A particularly large pothole jolted Josh into wakefulness. Stretching out his sore muscles, he stands and takes a look around the bus. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1"> Lit by the overhead seat lights, C.J. had her head buried in a briefing book, Margaret was making notes for Leo’s meetings tomorrow, Sam was fast asleep.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1"> Scanning the bus one more time, Josh couldn’t see Donna anywhere. He headed down to the back of the bus where Toby was trying to put the finishing touches on a speech the President had to give at a rally tomorrow. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1"> “Hey, have you seen Donna?”, Josh begins to say, before noticing the blonde hair fanning out across Toby’s lap. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1"> Donna was lied across two seats, with her head resting on Toby’s knee, with Toby’s legal pad balancing on her arm. Toby had one hand running back and forth through his own hair, and one arm resting on Donna’s shoulder, clicking his pen lid open and shut against the soft fabric of her cardigan.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1"> “Thank god you’re awake” Toby mutters without looking up, “I’ve been dying to get a cup of coffee and gets Sam’s opinion on the closing remarks but I didn’t want to wake her”, he gives Donna a gentle, albeit slightly awkward, pat on the shoulder, “I know she’s had a tough day.”</span>
</p><p class="p2">Many would find Toby’s behaviour in this instance to be strange, as anyone who had met him for a second knew he was more of an Oscar The Grouch of this life. However, him and Donna had struck up a close friendship, almost from the very first moment she turned up at the New Hampshire. Toby said he admired her gumption, and Donna admired the fact despite the gruff exterior, Toby Ziegler was one of the kindest people you could ever hope to meet.</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1"> “Alright” Josh says in hushed tones, “I’ll take over”. Toby collects his things, and gently lifts Donna’s head so he can slide out, and Josh can slide right into the seat in his place.Giving Josh a slight nod, Toby continues down the bus to wake Sam.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1"> Donna stirs slightly when her head is placed on Josh’s knee. She makes a little hum and snuggles in, placing on her hand on Josh’s knee. She was clearly exhausted, both physically and emotionally.</span>
</p><p class="p2">“Josh?” she murmurs, slightly adjusting her head where it lays on Josh’s thigh, “Toby has been really nice to me today”.</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1"> “Yeah Donna, it’s me”, Josh quietly replies, beginning to run his fingertips gently up and down her arm, “I wouldn’t get so used to it”. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1"> Despite his joke, Josh got why Toby had been so nice to Donna all day. Putting the simple fact that Donna and Toby had a good friendship aside, Toby had known loss more than anyone else Josh knew, so he had tried his best to be the friend that Donna needed today. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1"> This morning, Donna had woken up to three missed calls from her mother, delivering the news that her grandfather had passed away in the middle of the night, following a long battle with cancer. </span>
</p><p class="p2">The news had knocked the wind out of Donna, and despite repeated offers from Josh, Leo and the Governor, for her to take the day off and do what she needed to do, she worked as hard as always.</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1"> It was only when the quiet of the bus took over that it truly hit her, and not wanting to disturb what was possibly the only sleep Josh has had in 48 hours, Donna slid into the seat next to Toby and talked about her Grandpa Jack. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Through the tears that had been threatening to spill out all day long, on top of the exhaustion of simply being on the campaign, Donna had tired herself out. Noticing this, Toby had allowed her so stretch out on the seat and catch the bit of rest she so desperately needed.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1"> She had told Toby tales of the mischief they would get up to when she was a little girl; like sneaking candy when her grandmother wasn’t looking, and always making sure she had four marshmallows in her hot chocolate, even though her siblings only got three.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1"> She had told Toby about how he always encouraged her in school, went to every single one of her soccer games, any concert she was in, and clapped and hollered for Donna the loudest every single time, and how every time he saw her, even as an adult, he gave her the tightest hug in the world, a hug that makes you feel that nothing could ever go wrong.</span>
</p><p class="p2">She had told Toby about how he was the only Democrat in her predominantly Republican family, and encouraged Donna to get out there and join the campaign; “Donnatella, I think they’ve found the one”.</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1"> The staff had met Donna’s grandparents, and the rest of her large family, when they rolled through Wisconsin on a campaign stop. Grandpa Jack had taken a particular shine to Josh and Toby, talking about baseball and Bartlet and everything in between. </span>
</p><p class="p2">Josh took a second to think about the simple fact he could listen to Donna tell stories about her family for the rest of his life.</p><p class="p1"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Donna pulled Josh out of her reverie with a quiet murmur of “I miss him so much already, Josh”, he could hear the tears building up and her voice threatening to crack. </span>
</p><p class="p2">Quickly, he pulled her up off of his knee and into his arms, tucking her head under his chin and squeezing her tight. “I know you do Donna”, Josh replies, “but he was so so proud of you”.</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He feels Donna nod against his chest and settle into his arms further. “Just try and get a little more sleep, I’ll stay right here”, Josh whispers, placing one, two, three kisses on her temple. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1"> Relief washed through him when he felt Donna getting heavier and heavier against him, feeling thankful that he could do something to help her pain. Giving her a last little squeeze, he ran the heel of his hand up and down her spine in what he hoped was a soothing motion.</span>
</p><p class="p2">He’ll deal with the numbness he’ll eventually feel from sitting in this position, he’d sit here forever if it meant one minute less of Donna being upset.</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The thought did cross Josh's mind that if some people on the campaign saw them like this, some eyebrows would be raised. However, at this moment, Josh was just thankful that he could be here for her; the girl who had firmly inserted himself into his life by turning up at the New Hampshire office and hiring herself.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1"> Josh thought she was the bravest person he had ever had the pleasure of meeting, and thanked his lucky stars regularly that it was his office she had wandered into, and not Toby's or CJ's or Sam's. </span>
  <span class="s1">They hadn’t worked together very long, but Josh knew even now that he would let Donnatella Moss break his heart however and whenever she liked. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He placed one final kiss on the top of her head, and settled back into restfulness. "Just five more minutes", he thought to himself, with his eyes gently closing once more.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Eight Days A Week</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Title obviously taken from Eight Days A Week by The Beatles</p><p>This one is a reimagining of 'Inauguration: Over There', basically. However, ignore the timeline of how the night actually played out, this is just what I would have liked to happen lol.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Stumbling into the Hawk and Dove, Josh, Donna, CJ and Toby take up their usual residence in the booth at the back corner of the bar, away from any prying eyes.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">They had been to eight inaugural balls in one night, and Donna couldn’t believe it. The first time around, Donna hadn’t attended the balls, she had simply retired to her new apartment after the exhaustion of the months leading up to that fateful night, leaving the rest of the gang to rub shoulders with DC’s political elite. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">As much as one thought it would be exhausting to attend eight balls in one night, Donna found it was actually pretty fun. She drank expensive champagne with CJ, Carol and Margaret, danced with Sam, and even Toby at one point(She had no idea Toby Ziegler knew how to waltz.)</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">She hadn’t planned on attending tonight either, unable to face the embarrassment she felt after stupidly covering for Jack’s mistakes. Whilst sitting alone in her apartment, all dressed up with nowhere to go, she thought about Josh.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">She thought about the first time he ever called her “Donnatella”, and how much she liked the way her name rolled right out of his mouth. She thought about the first time he’d ever brought her coffee, exactly the way she liked it, left with a chocolate croissant on her desk, without a word. She thought about how she had to tell him his father had died, and how she’d cried and cried for him that night when he’d left for the airport. She thought about how stupid she was to risk all of that to cover for a man she only liked the idea of. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">And then there was shouting and snowballs, and when she got outside, to the ever-forgiving Josh, she felt the breath whoosh out of her. Without a second thought, he had sped over to her with his overcoat in his hand, ready to cover her up in it; with his self-righteous smirk, “you look amazing”, and “you’re going to have to sit on somebody’s lap”. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">She was brought out of her reverie by Toby slamming down a tray of drinks on the table,</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1"> “One Rusty Nail for Donnatella, a Grasshopper for Claudia Jean, and two of Scotland’s finest whiskeys for myself and Joshua”. She loved to see Toby like this, loose and fun-loving, the darkness behind his eyes subsiding, if only for an evening. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1"> Even though, their night had been put on hold to go back to work, they vowed to continue the night later on, after all, this was a night of celebration. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Here’s to four more years of no sleep, no social life, and doing it all for the love of the people”, says CJ, clinking her glass against everyone else’s, “We’re stuck together for four more years, mi compadres”. Donna found CJ so easy to love; with her folksy nicknames, her gentle smile, her bellowing laugh, and the way she could take complete control of a room in an instant.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Donna found herself staring at Toby and CJ, with the knowing smiles they shared, and glances when the other isn’t looking. It was easier for them, Donna thought,people knew not to ask any questions; that their relationship is bound by a lot of history and the exact details of the relationship itself are largely unknown to anyone but themselves. But right now, as CJ is leaning more and more into Toby’s side, and his hand is holding her hip, Donna knows that there is something there. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">They stayed way later than they should have, but it was easy to relax under the dim lights of the Hawk and Dove. Things were said that maybe shouldn’t be, looks and hands were placed where they maybe shouldn’t be.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Donna notices that Josh’s hand is entwined with hers, which is not unusual in these kind of circumstances. However, tonight, she tries to pull away.Josh’s hand tightens around hers, his thumb taking up a gentle caressing of her palm, all the while continuing his conversation about the merits of good whiskey with Toby. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He gives her a warm, albeit quite drunken grin. This is her favourite of all Josh smiles; it’s open and honest and usually reserved just for her and nobody else. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">She is once again reminded of how careless her recent mistake was. How could she risk losing all of this? Josh must have sensed her body stiffen as she dwells on what happens. He raises their joined hands up and over her head, so she can sink further into his side. He pulls her close, and places one two three kisses on her temple. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">This time, she does not try to pull away. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">It is, after all, a night of celebration.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Ain't Nothing But A Family Thing</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>*Title taken from the ever-brilliant Leo McGarry*</p><p>Josh spends Thanksgiving at Donna's family home.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">When you work in the White House, the holidays seem to come around so quickly. Before they knew it, Thanksgiving was upon them, and for once it seemed that everyone had their own plans. Toby was heading back to New York to visit with his nieces and nephews, C.J was heading back to Ohio to see her dad, and Sam was jetting off to somewhere exotic with some old college friends.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Donna was putting the final touches on some notes from Josh’s last meeting when she overheard the fact that Josh was planning on “sitting on his couch, drinking a beer and watching the game”. An hour later, she placed a plane ticket on Josh’s desk, accompanied by the border-line angry statement of “You cannot be alone on Thanksgiving, Joshua!”.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">On the flight on the way there, she was so nervous for Josh to meet her family, she picked stupid fights for the entire journey; about how she didn’t think Josh had packed warm enough clothes (“I grew up in Connecticut, Donna!!”, or how he had two beers at the airport (“It’s my first day off in years!!”). Despite this, he still held her hand for take-off and let her catch an hour’s sleep on his shoulder.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">As usual, her parents house was full to the brim with grandparents, cousins, siblings, nieces and nephews, and Donna breathed a sigh of relief. She always loved the chaos of this house, which perhaps provides an explanation for why she loves the chaos of working at the White House so much.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Josh was immediately swept up by her brothers, teasing him about the recent performance of his beloved Mets and handing him another beer. Meanwhile, Donna was greeting the rest of her family and fielding the usual questions about her and Josh’s relationship, “he’s my best friend Mom, not just my boss. I couldn’t let him be alone for Thanksgiving”.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">The night passed easily, a blur of catching up with family, constantly being offered food, and board games. Josh and Donna won four consecutive games of Articulate, until they were accused of cheating and/or knowing each other too well. They ate a lot of sandwiches and pretzels and chips, drank lots of beer, and were probably the most relaxed they’ve been in years.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">When bed-time rolled around, (with Josh’s bed being an inflatable mattress on the floor of Donna’s childhood bedroom), they decided to get comfortable in Donna’s bed and watch a movie. After a brief argument, “Joshua Lyman, if I hear one bad word come out of your mouth about Pretty Woman, there will be big trouble”, they decided on The Goonies.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“I love this movie so much Donna, ‘Goonies never say die!’”, Josh exclaims, as he snuggles down under the covers. Donna of course knew this, he knew the whole script of this movie back to front, something Donna found out when he was recovering.Lying here, looking at Josh’s face lit up with childish glee, she thought about the many other things she knew about her boss.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">She knew his favourite meal was beef bourguignon, but he equally liked the mac and cheese that comes out a box. She knew exactly how he liked his coffee and the measurements of his suits. She knew his favourite Beatles song was In My Life, and his favourite book was East of Eden by John Steinbeck. She also knew he hated anyone he loves being mad at him, and found this out when he said something rude to her last year, and she came back from her lunch break to a bouquet of flowers and a massive chocolate chip cookie left on her desk.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Josh had slid further down the bed, and was now resting his head against Donna’s arm. She ran her fingers through his curls, whilst he placed one, two, three kisses against her shoulder. He seemed to sense her sudden tiredness as he suddenly shifted position, allowing her to rest her head on his chest and throw her left leg over his right, whilst continuing to focus on the movie. He ran the heel of his hand up and down her back under the soft cotton of her t-shirt and linked his hand with hers where it rested on his stomach.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">The next morning, Donna arrive downstairs to Josh making her a cup of coffee, and dancing with her mom to the Van Morrison CD she always played when she was cooking. He played hide and seek with her nieces and nephews, and talked about football with her brothers, and remembered to congratulate her cousin Wendy on her recent engagement. Later, he helped her dad do the dishes and shot her a grin so big it made her heart hurt.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">On the plane home, as Josh slept open-mouthed against the window whilst keeping a hand on her knee, she thought about how this was potentially the best Thanksgiving yet.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Would You Be My Light, Be My Yellow?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>*Title taken from the song Hell N Back by Bakar (really cool song, I'd recommend it!*<br/>This is my imagining of that fateful trip to Hawaii, hope you enjoy!</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">It was the 15:40 flight back from Maui to DC, with a stopover along the way. Most people on the flight were asleep, including Josh Lyman.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Donna Moss was tanned, happy and wide awake thinking about the past week. Last Friday afternoon, she was sat at her desk, still trying to get her head around her brand new job, her brand new office, and the brand new President. 5 hours later, she was meeting her ex-boss on a flight out to Hawaii.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">The entire flight on the way there, Josh was too giddy to sleep. He kept surprising her with little kisses, or rubbing her leg, or playing with her hand. She tried to catch a few hours of sleep on his shoulder, but he was too fidgety, and kept waking her to tell her facts about Maui. A few hours in, he ordered a bottle of champagne, poured some into the two little plastic cups and handed one to her. Turning in his seat to face her, and with a trademark Joshua Lyman grin , said “Cheers to our first date”. Donna couldn’t contain her smile, because what a first date it was.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Upon arriving at their hotel, Donna could not believe her luck. Here she was, in a massive suite, complete with huge balcony and view of the ocean, with her ex-boss who also happens to be her best friend in the world. Exhaustion hit them both like a train the moment they saw the king size bed. Both stripping down to their underwear, they climbed under the fresh white sheets, and Josh wasted no time in pulling Donna close to him. With one hand rubbing her back, and the other gently caressing her thigh that was draped over both of his, he placed one, two, three kisses on her forehead, and was asleep in seconds.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">They spent hours and hours on the beach. Hours of Josh throwing her over his shoulder and running into the ocean. Hours of Josh reading the new book Donna had bought him at the airport, resting his head on her lap so she could rake her fingers through his hair. Donna loved to see Josh so carefree. She watched him walking up and down the shoreline; no shirt on and holding his flip-flops in one head, and combing the beach for shells to bring back for their friends, “Look Donna, Toby would love this one, it looks like a galaxy”.</p><p class="p1"> </p><p class="p1">They went on a visit to a volcano, and scuba dived, and did a million other things that Donna never thought she’d ever do when she was a little girl back in Wisconsin. When Donna got seasick on a boat ride around the island, he didn’t once laugh at her, but he rubbed her back, kissed her temple and got her water, and tipped the attendant $50 to get them back to the hotel quicker.</p><p class="p1"> </p><p class="p1">They ate the nicest meals Donna had ever had in her life, and they were made all the better by Josh always convincing her to split a desert with him, “Come on Donnatella, we’ll be back to eating shitty sandwiches from the mess in no time”. He held her hand over the table, and in the glow of the candlelight, he shot her a grin so big it made her feel dizzy. Back in the hotel room, he played music out of the stereo, and they danced and danced and danced. As Josh span her around the room, and was laughing like she’d never heard him laugh before, she thanked all her lucky stars that had got them to this point.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">The cold, harsh memory of how they were on the campaign trail seemed a distant memory once she’d laughed till she felt sick at how Josh’s hair stuck up on one side after he’d fallen asleep on her towel at the beach, or when they were watching a hula performance and she’d sat between his legs and he’d played with her hand like it was the only thing he wanted to do for the rest of his life.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">On the last night, as they clambered into bed, exhausted and a little bit tipsy, Josh leaned over Donna, kissed her, and said “God Donna, I feel like the luckiest man alive”.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Now, 5 hours into the flight home, Josh shifted in his sleep, moving his head from the window to Donna’s chest, snuggling in and placing a kiss to her collarbone. She gave him a little squeeze, brushed his hair back with her hand, and placed one, two, three kisses on his temple. Leaning back to finally get some sleep herself, she thought once more about how lucky she was, and how she wished this luck would long continue.</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>